Putnam County’s season could not have ended in a more dramatic, though disappointing way.
In the second round of the Class AA state playoffs, Dodge County edged out the War Eagles 85-82 in double overtime as Heaven Carson nailed a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left.
However, Putnam County still had a chance to win as head coach LaPatrick Marshall called a timeout following Carson’s go-ahead basket. He drew up a play in which senior Keyni Crawford received the inbounds, but the point guard’s shot came up short in the end.
“I can’t begin to explain how proud I am of my guys, man,” Marshall said. “I’ve been coaching for 15 years and I feel closer to that group than any other. It hurt us not to be able to continue to go on (in the state playoffs), but I am beyond proud of how the guys played through double overtime and continued to battle. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The War Eagles had a chance to put the game away at the end of regulation, but a few missed free throws took the contest to overtime. Still, they led by three points in the final seconds, but Dodge County’s Jaedon McClendon came off a screen and buried a triple.
McClendon’s basket tied it up with one second left and sent the game to its first overtime, where chaos ensued. After going back and forth, the Indians led by three when Putnam County’s Eren Banks nailed a half-court prayer to tie it up as the buzzer sounded.
“I should’ve fouled,” Dodge County head coach Cedric Jordan told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution on Monday. “I was probably thinking the same thing (the War Eagles) were at the end of the fourth quarter. I didn’t think they would have a good look, and sure enough, he (Banks) got all the way to about two steps in front of half-court and drilled it.”
The second overtime between the two teams was highly contested.
With the score tied at 82 with six seconds left, Johnson drew up a play that involved one of the Indians’ best shooters in Carson, who sunk the game-winning shot over a pair of War Eagles’ defenders.
“Man, it was tough,” Marshall said. “As a coach, I am going to look back at the game for a long time and wonder what I could have done differently. We probably should’ve fouled at the end of regulation. This will sting for a while, but either way, I am proud of our guys.”
The War Eagles had three players score over 20 points, with Banks totaling a team-high 29, while junior Landon Bonner followed with 22 and Crawford added 21 points.
Putnam County’s trio of Banks, Bonner and Crawford powered it past Toombs County in the first round. The War Eagles dominated the Bulldogs 71-49 at home last Wednesday night.
Toombs County led 10-6 midway through the first quarter, but Putnam County went on a long run and led 21-12 at the end of the opening period. They never trailed again.
Bonner scored a game-high 25 points, followed by Crawford with 17 points and Banks adding 16. Senior ‘Tra Smith added six points and a team-high eight rebounds in the win.
Putnam County ended its season with a 22-7 overall record and an 11-3 mark in region play. The War Eagles entered the 2022-23 regular season ranked No. 6 in Class and ended at No. 5. Putnam also won its first playoff game in nine years. The last time the War Eagles got a postseason victory was in 2014 under former head coach Jerusha Hudson.
“We met a bunch of goals,” Marshall said. “One of our main goals was to give our community something to be proud of and I believe we did that. We checked that box off.”
Putnam County will graduate seven players in May, including two of its top three leading scorers in Banks and Crawford. The War Eagles will also lose Smith, Payton Ellison, Michael Morris, Quin Harden and Jeremiah Bullard.
“I genuinely love those guys. Nobody can replace what they’ve brought to me,” Marshall said. “Now, we’re going to have to replace them on the floor, but you can’t replace what they’ve done in the locker room and for the culture of what we’ve built here. You can’t replace that. So, others are going to have to come in and build on what they’ve done.”